


ease

by merihn



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Gen, Hugs, Multi, Sharing Clothes, it just snuck up on me, not even any kissing!, the Julie/Luke/Reggie is extremely minor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28381338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merihn/pseuds/merihn
Summary: Julie needs hugs. Lots of hugs.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters
Comments: 21
Kudos: 142





	ease

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this post. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and so I just wrote it!  
> This was meant to be completely gen with no pairings, but the Luke/Julie/Reggie snuck in there anyway. I’m also still endlessly surprised at how quickly I’m writing fics for this fandom, what? This only took like an hour and a half.

Julie stumbled her way down the steps to the garage, her feet hitting every crack and raised stone on the way down until she was so frustrated she wanted to cry. Her head ached dully, a slow pulse that made it feel like her eyes were being pushed slowly out of their sockets. She slipped into the garage and saw Alex sitting on the couch and stumbled over to him, slumping into his lap and pressing her face to his chest. He froze for a long moment, then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer. It was the first time she’d hugged just him and she knew it was a shock, but she couldn’t summon the words to explain. 

She could hear his heart beating, slow and soothing, and wondered at it. How could she hear something he no longer had? 

Alex brushed her hair away from her face, and when she turned to give him more access with a pleased sound, he continued to stroke her hair gently. 

“Wanna talk?” he asked, low. She shook her head slightly and he kept petting her, long rhythmic strokes. She didn’t need to talk, there wasn’t anything to talk  _ about _ . She was just exhausted and no amount of talking was going to change that. But relaxing in Alex’s arms, listening to his heartbeat, while he stroked her hair was already making her feel better. 

She wasn’t even aware that she was drifting off, lulled by the thump of Alex’s heart and his warm embrace, and soon she knew nothing else.

***

“Movie night!” Reggie crowed, doing a weird little butt dance around Julie’s living room. She giggled at him fondly and Luke slapped his ass as he sashayed past. With her dad and Carlos gone for the night at an away game for Carlos, it was the perfect time to set up in the living room and marathon the Fast and the Furious movies. Julie queued up the first movie and turned to see the boys sprawled out on the sofa, Luke and Reggie making hopeful eyes at her. She smiled and wandered over, then sat down next to Alex and curled up on his lap. He automatically swept her hair out of the way and dropped his arm around her shoulders. Luke made an affronted noise and she peeked over at him to see Reggie cuddling him and petting his head. 

“Trying to make them jealous, or something?” Alex asked, his voice rumbling pleasantly through his chest. 

“Nah, you’re just really comfortable. And you don’t talk through movies unlike some people,” she raised her voice for the last part and glared at Luke and Reggie. They pouted back at her. She snuggled into Alex’s chest and relaxed.

***

Julie sniffled a little as she walked into the studio. Luke jumped up immediately but she bypassed him and headed straight for Alex.

“Are you o -” Julie cut him off by slamming into his chest, a little harder than she’d anticipated. “...kay?” Alex wrapped his arms around her. She knew she should have said something instead of straight up ignoring Luke, but right now she just needed the comfort of Alex’s arms around her and the steady beat of his heart to fill her head. He tucked her head under his chin and held her, his soft, fruity smell filling her nose and calming her. Another mystery, how he could smell of anything at all. But as strange as it was, it comforted her.

“Flynn and I had a fight,” she said quietly, when she felt calm enough. Alex ran his fingers through her hair and her shoulders dropped further. “It was so stupid, about nothing really. But now she’s mad and won’t talk to me. I know she’ll get over it by tomorrow, but sometimes it really hurts when she shuts me out like this.”

Alex hummed, and like before, she could feel it against her cheek. He stroked her hair softly and started swaying, just the tiniest bit, but it felt so nice. Julie sighed and hung on, letting the small movement soothe her.

***

Julie found Alex’s pink hoodie in a pile on the floor behind the couch and reached down to pick it up unthinkingly. Instead of her hand passing through it like it had before their post-Orpheum hug, it remained solid but soft in her hands. While the clothes they had left behind in the loft were solid to lifers, before the Orpheum the clothes they’d worn when they’d died had been as incorporeal as they were. Usually she didn’t worry about them and just left it to the boys to tidy up, but she loved Alex’s pink hoodie and hated to see it on the floor. 

She held it in her hands wonderingly, and brought it up to her nose to sniff. It smelled just like Alex, that gentle fruity scent that instantly calmed her. She was about to hang it back over the couch then stopped. Would he mind if she wore it for a little while? Probably not. And if he did she would apologise and promise to never touch his things again. He was pretty forgiving.

She pulled it over her head and was engulfed in his smell, much stronger inside the garment, until she found the neck hole and pushed her head through it. She pulled the hood up over her hair and left the cuffs hanging over her hands. She was practically swimming in it and it was so soft and comfortable. She wrapped her arms around herself and it almost felt like Alex was hugging her. 

She walked around the couch and picked up her book, curling up against the arm and started reading with Alex’s smell surrounding her. 

“Are you wearing Alex’s hoodie?” 

Julie jumped and dropped her book, looking up at Luke. “Hey.” She smiled at him. He smiled back, then frowned. “Oh, yeah. It was on the floor and I was just gonna pick it up and put it back but it smells so nice and it’s so comfortable. Do you think he’ll mind?”

Luke’s frown deepened.

“Do  _ you _ mind?” she asked.

“Mind what?” Alex asked as he walked in. “Hey, is that my hoodie?”

“Uh, yeah. I just found it and I-”

“Oh, is Luke jealous that you’re wearing my clothes?” Alex walked up behind Luke and ruffled his hair. Luke growled and grabbed Alex, wrapping an arm around his neck and grappling with him. 

Alex finally pulled free and pushed his hair off his face. “Totally jealous,” he said and grinned at Julie. Luke messed up his hair again and Alex shoved him away, onto the couch. Julie laughed at them and Luke sent her a wounded look. 

“Oh my god, it’s just a hoodie.”

“You could have worn one of mine,” Luke said sullenly. She tried not to laugh at him again, but he looked so ridiculous that she couldn’t stop it. 

“Mmm, there’s just something about the way Alex smells,” Julie countered, pulling the front of the hoodie up so she could take a deep breath. Luke crossed his arms and pouted. 

“Julie! You’re wearing Alex’s hoodie! Isn’t it the best? We used to steal it all the time until Alex got sick of never being able to wear it.” Reggie bounced in and flung himself down next to Julie, kissing her on the cheek. She looked over at Luke with raised eyebrows and he sighed. 

“Awww, is little Lukie jealous?” Reggie got up and plopped himself in Luke’s lap, curling his arms around Luke’s neck. Luke wrapped his arms around Reggie immediately and buried his face in Reggie’s neck. 

“Leave me alone,” he said, muffled. 

“Stop being so ridiculous then!” Alex said. 

Julie slid along the couch to where Luke and Reggie were cuddled up and wrapped her arms around them both. 

“Don’t be cranky, Luke. You should know better than anyone that Alex gives the best hugs. His hoodie is the next best thing.”

“Don’t have to be so mean about it.” Luke still hadn’t pulled away from Reggie’s neck, but he wrapped an arm around Julie and pulled her closer.

“You don’t have to overreact so much,” she said gently, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. 

“Sorry.” He turned his head so he could look at her with one eye. He was devastatingly adorable, and Julie couldn’t stop the smile spreading over her face. 

“It’s ok. I understand.” She wormed her way under Reggie’s arm and sighed happily.

“I  _ am _ going to get my hoodie back, right?”


End file.
